Container closure and process for applying the same



E. H. BERRY July 12, 1932.

CONTAINER CLOSURE AND PROCESS FOR APPLYING THE SAME Filed OCL. 17, 1950Patented July 12, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDGAR H. BERRY, OFIIARIERS FERRY, WEST VIRGINIA CONTAINER CLOSURE AND PROCESS FOP.-APPLYING- THE SAME Application led'October 17, 1930. Serial No. 489,292.

5 ture of the container; the consumer removes and discards the closingelement, leaving the dispensing aperture free and uncovered.

The object of this invention is the provision of an economical device,which will close To the dispensing aperture in a leak-proof manner, butwhich is readily removable as above stated.

This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in whichFigs. 1 and 2 are plan and face views .respectively, of a containerequipped with a closure of my improved form.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section on the center line of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a face view of the closing element in a preliminary stage ofits production.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the closing element when ready for application.

Figs. 6 and 7 are end views of the closing element of Fig. 5.

Figs. 8 and 9 are vertical cross sections corresponding to Fig. 3, butshowing successive stages in the application of the closing element.

Fig. l0 is a face view of container and closing element, showing thelatter in a position corresponding to Fig. 9.

Similar reference characters apply to similar parts in the severalfigures.

The drawing illustrates my invention with particular reference to acylindrical container, having a side wall a, a permanently attached capB, and a dispensing aperture c. The latter being in the form of acircular perforation through the side wall a and through the iiange d ofthe cap B.

The closing` element for the dispensing aperture c (and which I call theclosure strip) is indicated by E in the several figures. In order thatthis closure strip may be applied in a pro-per manner, it is in generaldesirable that the interior of the container be accessible at the timeof such application. Thus the closure strip may be applied after one capB is fastened to the'container,

'transversely (Figs. 6 and 7) and also lonpresented by the transversecurl (Figs. 6

but before the second cap (not shown) is similarly affixed. As will beevident from kwhat follows, after the closure strip has been applied inthe contemplatedmanner, this strip so seals the dispensing aperture othat 55 Ithe container becomes a virtually non-perforate unit, open atone end until the second cap is affixed, and can be correspondinglyhandled for filling and final sealing.

The dispensing aperture c is conveniently '50 made of circularform. Theclosure strip E may be of light cardboard, or of heavy paper, or foldedfrom several plies of lighter paper, as may be most convenient. Tosimplify the p drawing, I Show this strip as presenting only 'r a singleply, but I find that the general principle of the closure appliesequally well to a closure strip which is folded longitudinally topresent several plies of appropriate thick- M ness. Referring moreparticularly to the singleply closure strip above mentioned, this may becut from the flat material in the tapered form shown in Fig. 4v. It isthen curled 5 gitudinally as shown in Fig. 5. I find that this doublecurling is readily effected, as for example, by drawing the strip over amandrel through a conical die. The curvature r and 7) is preferably lesssharp than the curvature presented by the perimeter of the dispensingaperture c, so that when the closure strip is threaded through thisaperture as l hereinafter referred to, the strip will tend to hug theedge of the aperture.

The closure strip E, curled as above, is threadedthrough the dispensingaperture 0 (see Fig. 8) the large end of the strip beingl inside thecontainer. I then press the inner or tail end of this closure strip intothe position shown in Fig. 9, as for example by means of co-acting dieblocks F and G. I also bend the outer or head end of the strip sharplyat t (over the edge of the container y cap B) into the position shown bydot-anddash lines in Fig. 9, this operation being conveniently performedby the thumb and fingers of the operator. ,y

In threading the closure strip through the head end z' of the closurestrip to the con-V tainer in any convenient manner, say for example, bythe gummed seal or sticker J Figs. 1, 2, 3. In this way, the closurestrip is firmly wedged in the dispensing aperture c against any tendencyto slip forward (outward), and is tensely bound (by the binding means J)against the possibility of slipping backward (inward). This condition isclearly indicated in Fig. 2.

The closure strip, thus wedged against the sides of the dispensingaperture, conforms itself to the lower semi-circumference of thisaperture under the action or pressure of the die blocks F and Gr (Fig.9), and conforms itself to the upper semi-circumference as a result ofthe bending under tension at L (Figs. 9 and 3) but at the same time, thepreviously formed curl tends to persist in that small portion of theclosure strip E which actually lies within the dispensing aperture c,(or between the points h and p, Fig. 9).

When the die blocks F and G are released, the slight though appreciableresiliency of the closure strip causes the tail end of the latter tobulge out slightly as indicated at n Fig. 3, although the extreme end m(of the closure strip) tends to remain close to the container wall asshown; but releasing the said die blocks does not result in anyspringing-away of the closure strip from its engagement with the lowersemi-circumference of the dispensing aperture, because any tendencytoward such springing-away is connterbalanced by the already mentionedtendency of the curl to persist in that portion of the closure stripwhich lies within the dispensing aperture. In other words, by theseveral successive steps which have been described, the closure strip isdeformed from an originally flat blank, and is embossed or molded intoclose engagement with the entire perimeter of the dispensing aperture.

My use of the term embossed is not to be understood as implying thateither of the die blocks has to be provided with an embossingprotuberance or hollow. One reason for the security of my closure isfound in the fact that the embossing or molding effect is largelycont-rolled by those portions of the container wall adjacent to thedispensing aperture itself, and die blocks with smooth cylindricalsurfaces (acting on the curled and wedgedly confined closure strip)serve to apply the necessary pressure. When dealing with a smallcontainer and a light closure strip, I may even make the die block F astationary horn (similar to the horn of an anvil) and apply manualpressure to the external block G.

While the embossing or molding effect is important in attaining a tightclosure, yet in view of the relatively slight thickness of the materialsdealt with, the actual amount of such embossing or molding is not verygreat, and the force which has to be applied is correspondinglymoderate.

Referring further to the security of the closure attained, it will benoted that insofar as there may be any tendency for the closure strip torevert to its original fiat shape, this will tend to increase (ratherthan diminish) the firmness with which this strip is confined by theedge of the dispensing aperture.

In the original production of the closure strip E, the stiffness andnumber of plies of its material, its width and taper, and its transversecurl, must of course be properly proportioned with respect to eachother, with respect to the size of the dispensing aperture, and withrespect to whether the container wall is flat or moderately curved orsharply curved. My drawing shows a fair average case, in which thegreatest width of the closure strip is somewhat greater than one and onehalf times the diameter of the dispensing aperture, and the transversecurl shown in Fig. 7 is nearly a semi-circle.

The security of'my closure, sufficient to prevent leakage of even veryfine powder, is more easily understood by an inspection of Vthe actualarticle than from any written description. If desired, a small amount ofsealing material (paraffin or rthe like) may be applied to the exposededges 7c and Z (of aperture and strip respectively), see Fig. 2. Thishowever, is merely a supplementary precaution, not a direct necessity informing a secure closure.

As already mentioned, after the closure strip has been applied andsecured, the container (still having one end open) may be filled; theopen end may then be capped and sealed in any convenient manner. Thepurchaser desiring to dispense the contents, breaks the seal J (or otherequivalent fastening), and pulls the closure strip E out of thedispensing aperture, the edges of the strip curling sufficiently topermit of such withdrawal without tearing either the strip or the edgesof the dispensing aperture. It will be noted that such final removal ofthe closure strip leaves the dispensing aperture with smooth edges, andfree from such remnants as might adhere after the removal 'of a sealpasted over the dispensing aperture itself.

I claim:-

1 A closure for a dispensing aperture in the wall of a container, thesaid closure comprising a closure strip and means for binding this stripto an external surface of the container, the strip presenting a taperadapted to enter into wedged engagement with the edge of the dispensingaperture, and the large end of the taper being inside the container.

2. A closure for a dispensing aperture in the wall of a container, thesaid closure c0m prising a closure strip and means for binding thisstrip to an external surface of the container, the strip presenting ataper and a transverse curl, the taper and the trans- Versely curledface of the strip being adapted to enter into wedged engagement with theedge of the dispensing aperture, and the large end of the taper beinginside the contain-er.

3. A closure for a dispensing aperture in the wall of a container, thesaid closure comprising a closure strip and means for binding this stripto an external surface of the container, the strip presenting a taperand a longitudinal curl, the taper and the longitudinally curled face ofthe strip being adapted to enter into wedged engagement with the edge ofthe dispensing aperture, and the large end of the taper being inside thecontainer. y

4. A closure for a dispensing aperture in the wall of a container, thesaid closure comprising a closure strip and means for binding this stripto an external surface of the container, the strip presenting a taper, atransverse curl, and a longitudinal curl, the taper and the doublycurled face of the strip being adapted to enter into wedged engagementwith the edge of the vdispensing aperture, and the large end of thetaper being inside the container.

5. The process of eecting a semi-permanent container closure of theherein described nature, by threading a curled tapered closure stripthrough the aperture to be closed, making a localized engagement betweenthe strip and the edge of the aperture under tension applied to thestrip, extending such engagement around the perimeter of the aperture byinternal and external pressure, and locking the strip in such engagementby binding the strip to the container.

EDGAR H. BERRY.

